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• Hair removal: Removal of unwanted hair from any part of the body except around the eyes.
• Vascular lesions: Removal or reduction of port wine stains, thread veins and other vascular lesions
• Pigmented lesions: Removal or reduction of freckles, age spots and other pigmented lesions
• Sun-damaged skin: Removal or reduction of age spots, visible blood vessels, diffuse redness and uneven pigmentation while improving skin texture.
• Warts: Plantar warts(bottom of foot) and common warts.

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There must be a dark hair in the follicle, so waxing and plucking should be stopped well before, preferably 3 to 4 weeks prior to the treatment. You can trim snip or shave either the night before or on the day of treatment. On the day of treatment you should not apply deodorants, perfumes, talc or moisturisers containing sunscreen.

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The Hair Growth Cycle

Several treatments are required at the start of laser therapy because of the natural growth cycle of hair follicles. Each hair follicle goes through growing and resting phases, and the hair follicle is most vulnerable to laser treatment early in the growing phase. The number of active follicles and the length of the growth phase varies. The first treatment will only damage some of the follicles and you may only see 20% reduction. After a few weeks, previously resting follicles break into growth. These can then be lasered and the treatment repeated at approximately 4 to 6 week intervals. After 4 – 6 treatments, most of the hair follicles in any particular site will be suppressed. Periodic touch ups may be required.

Each hair follicle lives in a cycle consisting of a long period of growth followed by a relatively short period of rest. During the rest period the hair is still attached to the hair follicle, but it is not growing. After the resting phase the hair is shed and a newer hair begins to grow, thus, starting a new hair growth cycle. There is a genetic predisposition of each hair follicle to follow a particular pattern of growth and rest. Hair follicles are programmed to stop and start producing hair and spend more time in the resting stage with the progression of age.

The growth cycle of a hair consists of 3 stages:

I. ANAGEN (GROWING) STAGE

This is the name for the growing period of a hair follicle. The anagen stage for hair follicles typically lasts about 3 to 5 years. This is the stage when the laser treatment can stop further hair growth permanently.

II. CATAGEN (INTERMEDIATE) STAGE

At the end of the growth period, hair follicles prepare themselves for the resting phase. This transition period of a hair follicle from growth to rest is called the cartage stage. This stage of the hair growth cycle usually lasts about 1 to 2 weeks or so. During the catagen phase the deeper portions of the hair follicles start to collapse. Laser treatments performed at this stage are not effective.

III. TELOGEN (RESTING or SHEDDING) STAGE

This is the resting period of a hair follicle. It is usually 3 to 4 months in length and at the end of this period older hairs that have finished their life will fall out and newer hairs will begin to grow. Laser treatments will not work on hair follicles during this stage.

The growing (anagen) phase of your hair constitutes about 60% of your body hair at one given time. Thus, you will need more than one treatment to attain 100% hair reduction. The exact amount of treatments can't be known because your hair growth cycle is predispositioned and genetically linked to you. On average, you can expect 4-7 treatments to get 'hair free.'

An Intense Pulse Light (IPL Laser) is simply a source of very bright light. The light is fired as a very brief flash and the energy is absorbed by dark hair follicles yet diffuses safely away in pale skin. The light energy is turned into heat as it is absorbed and the length of the flash is carefully controlled so that this heat does not spread and damage other parts of the skin. In this way the dark hair follicles can be selectively heated and damaged. This will then cause the hair to fall out after a week or two and any subsequent regrowth to be finer and sparser.

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After the procedure is complete, you will most likely experience redness and maybe even a little stinging. This generally subsides in about two to four hours. For a few days after the procedure, you might experience some mottled skin or discoloration. These problems, however, will resolve themselves. If you have particularly coarse or thick hair, you might also experience some blistering or crusting. As with the skin discoloration, this will go away on its own within a few days.

You will also notice that hair remains on your skin after the procedure. This is because the procedure does not actually extract the hairs. Rather, it kills them at the root and it can take some time for them to fall out. As time goes on, you will notice a gradual lessening of hair. You should not, however, attempt to pull the hairs out or try to help them along in any way. You will notice right away that you no longer need to shave as often.

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For most people, it takes anywhere from four to six treatments to achieve the desired results form laser hair removal. This is because a percentage of your hair is dormant at all times, which means it is not growing. Percentage of dormant hair is different for everyone. Since your hair runs in cycles, the dormant hair will be active later and will grow. Therefore, the follow up treatments are necessary in order to kill off the hair that was dormant during the previous session or sessions. Typically, you should wait six to eight weeks between treatments to allow the dormant hair time to become activated for the next treatment.

You cannot pluck or wax the area between treatments. This will remove the hair from the follicle, which will make it impossible for the laser to find during your follow up treatments. As with the first treatment session, however, it is perfectly fine to shave between treatments.

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Our new advanced lasers are virtually pain free. Most clients describe it as a little uncomfortable, similar to a rubber band being snapped on the skin. In fact no use of a topical anesthetic like Emla cream is needed before treatment, which Is commonly used with other types of lasers.

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The best results are obtained when there is a large difference between the colour of the hair and the colour of the skin, for example black hair on fair skin will work better than light or white hair on light skin. In people with dark hair and light skin the laser can be turned up very bright with little risk of harming the skin. Mediterranean, Middle and Far Eastern skin types can be treated with care. Darker skin types than these are not suitable for the stronger lasers because the skin pigment absorbs too much laser energy causing unwanted damage such as burns and lightened skin. Men and women can both be treated, and all parts of the body can be treated.

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Treatment time can vary based on the area. The upper lip takes only a few minutes while a larger area like the back or legs can take up to an hour or more. Your Hair Free Laser Technician will advise you of how long your treatment will expect to take.

***Results vary based on skin tone, hair follicles, and growth stage. Multiple treatments may be necessary to achieve desired results. Post-treatment effects also vary depending on individual circumstances and stage of treatment.